Technology has had a profound effect on the way we live and work. As a result, we are spending more time sitting and using computers, which has greatly increased the occurrence of related musculoskeletal disorders. This article reviews a number of techniques for avoiding work-related, repetitive stress injuries and enhancing both the comfort and productivity levels of the workers who adopt them.

Technology. The ultimate buzzword of the past decade, it touches nearly every corner of our lives, from medicine to entertainment to the way we buy groceries. A quick retrospective reveals it's also had a profound impact on the way most of us work.

Only 10 years ago, if you wanted to send or retrieve a fax, you got up from your desk and walked to the fax machine. Today, with online faxing, a couple of keystrokes is all it takes. In days of yore, if you wanted to ask your coworker a question, you'd probably get up and walk to their desk or office.

Today, however, there are several less taxing ways to communicate. E-mail and on-line messaging, in addition to sophisticated phone paging and voice mail systems, have taken the place of the leisurely stroll down the hall brandishing coffee and (only tWo decades ago) a cigarette.

The result of all these changes is that we're spending more time at our desks, and more time on our computers - a lot more time. While 90 percent of all U.S. office workers now use computers, 40 percent work on their computers at least four hours a day. But Dr. Alan Hedge, Professor of the Human Factors Laboratory at Cornell University, warns that the risk of musculoskeletal discomfort increases by using the computer as little as one hour a day. Even worse, the risk of musculoskeletal injury is nine times greater when you spend four hours a day at the computer than it is for a one hour-per-day user. These statistics shed some light on the growing number of work-related office injuries, and the increasing importance of ergonomics in the workplace.

ERGONOMICS DEFINED

So what exactly is ergonomics? In a broad sense, office ergonomics applies science to workplace design to maximize productivity while reducing operator fatigue and discomfort. While the concept is fairly straightforward, its application is often open to debate. This is why it's important to articulate the real issues facing workers in today's office, and to debunk the misconceptions that typically surround discussions of ergonomics.

EMPLOYERS PAYING THE PRICE

While workers suffer from task-related injuries, employers are footing the staggering costs. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) now account for one-third of all occupational illnesses and injuries. They constitute the largest job-related illness and injury problem in the U.S. today. In 1997, employers reported a total of 626,000 lost workdays due to work-related MSDs. They pay approximately $20 billion annually in direct worker's compensation costs and another $60 billion in indirect costs.